


Menacing Beginnings

by Geekgurl



Series: The Marauding Menaces [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/F, F/M, Humor, Lily's friends, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Minor Character Death, Slight Dumbledore Bashing, Slight marauder bashing, beware the monologue of voldemort, conniving pets, crude comments, marauding shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:40:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23933941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geekgurl/pseuds/Geekgurl
Summary: “Why magic of course” she replied cheekily. Olivia made a noise of discontent at the ridiculous answer, but was distracted when Ephiliea pulled her closer to the window. “Look! It’s Hogwarts! We’re home!”Olivia snapped her attention out the window and gasped in awe. The castle stood in all its glory, like a beacon of light, in the stormy night. She unconsciously let go of Ephiliea’s hand to touch the glass window, amazed. “Wow this is…” She turned to Ephiliea, words unable to describe what she was feeling.“Home” the other supplied.Olivia smiled. “Yeah…Home.” They both looked back out the window, staring at the castle that would be theirs for the next year or so.Welcome to Hogwarts they both thought in excitement.Follow the adventures of Olivia and Ephiliea as they navigate being Lily's best friends, become the Marauders' worse nightmares, create havoc, and strive to be Hogwarts' best menaces. How would things turn out differently with the addition of two own characters influencing Harry's world before his birth?
Series: The Marauding Menaces [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1725217
Kudos: 1





	1. Welcome to Hogwarts

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings Witches and Wizards! This is my first fic on Archive! I am co-writing this with a very good friend of mine. We hope you love the story as much as we love writing it! <3

Ephiliea withheld a grimace of distaste as she looked about the train station. She was never particularly good with crowds and being around so many people in a noisy and small space made her anxious, especially when it wasn’t her kind of people. Her fingers twitched trying to feel the phantom warmth of her wand, concealed in her wand holster and wrapped around her left forearm, as she looked at all the families around her.

Most were tearful and waving and kissing their children goodbye but there was a sense of urgency in the air, as if they all knew something awful was going to happen. The urge to call out her wand increased.

Her eyes momentarily passed a rather rambunctious group as four boys in red lined robes dog piled on top of each other- snorting mentally at their ridiculousness- and continued sweeping across the platform bypassing a girl pushing a cart with a large brown barn owl on top of a trunk with a strange crest.

A cold hand on her back startled her from her observations.

“Stand proud girl. There are people here watching you and we don’t want you ruining our image for not being proper” hissed her aunt so lowly the young girl knew only she would have heard with all the bustle and hustle going on around them on the platform.

“Yes Aunt Marlene” she replied solemnly back, biting her tongue to hold the retort she actually wanted to spit at the woman when her uncle gave her a warning look.

Marlene and Richard Selwyn were her paternal aunt and uncle, Richard being the younger brother of Ephiliea’s own deceased father, who were tasked with the responsibility of caring for her. With the deaths of her parents, the responsibilities of their family and vaults went to her uncle until Ephiliea was of age and this gave the man every incentive to treat her as if she was the dirt on his shoes.

Her aunt not so gently pushed her forward and Ephiliea went willingly, knowing only too well she would be hexed- discreetly because Merlin forbid should they ever punish her openly in public- for her disobedience.

They stopped not so far from the red sparkling train, that even in her private thoughts thought it was rather magnificent with its brilliant red hue and lively aura despite these tense times, and stopped. She turned to face them and put on her pureblood mask, staring at them with nothing but polite boredom. It wasn’t exactly insulting but she knew she had displeased her aunt and uncle when her aunt’s face became slightly more pinched and the twitch on her uncle’s face became slightly more pronounced. Ephiliea held back a smirk. You couldn’t kill the spirit that’s for sure.

“Behave. We have an image to uphold and won’t tolerate any nonsense from you.”

“Yes Aunt Marlene.” Ephiliea watched her aunt press her lips into thin strips. “I won’t cause any trouble” she lied fluently, not breaking any eye contact with her strict aunt. “Will you be expecting me for Yule Uncle Richard?” she asked, looking towards him for his answer.

He scowled visibly. “No.” Ephiliea almost cried in relief. “Don’t bother coming back for the winter break. We will be too busy hosting events to be worried about you.”

That did raise the imaginary eyebrows in Ephiliea’s mind despite the still blank face she was presenting. Internally she scoffed. None of them needed it to be said out loud what they were really going to be doing during the winter holidays. It was nothing she wanted to be a part of anyways and was glad for the excuse to not return.

She gave them a slight nod of acceptance. “Of course Uncle. I will find a proper excuse should someone ask why I am not returning home for Yule.”

“Good.”

“If that is all then, Aunt, Uncle, I’m afraid I will have to bid you farewell until the end of the year” she said regrettably, already mourning the fact she would have to return to them when the summer months approached. She gave them another nod and without taking a look back or waiting for a dismissal stepped away from their presence and entered the train.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Olivia looked around the train station, amazed. Everything was so new to her; she pushed her cart with her Ilvermorny crest trunk and owl Emerald. Her father walked alongside her. Ren, her younger half-sister, held their father’s hand. “Honestly Olivia, close your mouth. You act like you have never been in a train station before” Octavian said sternly.

Olivia closed her mouth, “Well I never have” she grumbled.

“How did you get to school in America?” Ren asked.

She smiled over at the young girl. “Mom would drive me. We would have a road trip and sing songs along the way. The sights on the way to Ilvermorny were breathtaking” she said, remembering her late mother.

Vanessa Evergreen, her mother, had died a few months ago from an unknown illness. After her death, Olivia was sent to live with her father in the UK. Her parents divorced when she was very young. Now her father was remarried to a woman that could care less about her. Together they had a daughter and named her Ren. She was a cheerful nine-year-old and Olivia enjoyed her company.

They reached platform 9 ¾ and Octavian looked around, “Do you remember how I told you to get on the platform?” he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

She nodded and ran through the wall. She gasped when she saw the shiny red train in front of her.

“Whoa, it’s so big!” Ren exclaimed. Their father came behind them; he looked around the train station.

“Your cousin should be here,” he said, scanning the platform. Olivia looked at the different families on the platform. Most were parents hugging their children. Others were children waving goodbye with joyous smiles as they left their parents and boarded the train.

“Ah Axton” Octavian said, waving to a tall man that resembled him.

“Octavian, it is good to see you” he said, nodding to his younger brother. A boy with dark brown hair stood behind him. He looked at Olivia and smiled. His eyes were kind unlike his father’s.

“Olivia, you know your uncle Axton and his son Jacob” he said, gesturing to them.

“Hello, it is good to see you again” Olivia said politely.

Axton looked at the girl disapprovingly but Jacob stepped up, “When father told me you would be coming to Hogwarts I was quite excited. I’m sorry to hear about your mother though” he said sadly.

Olivia smiled, the only times she saw her cousin was during Christmas. He was always kind to her. They would play together and steal cookies from the kitchens. At a young age they were inseparable.

“It’s alright” Olivia said with a shrug.

Octavian frowned, Vanessa's death was so sudden. When he got the call from Ilvermorny he rushed over to America to be there for his daughter. All they knew was that she died on the job. The MACUSA did not release any other information. He tried to make her comfortable in her new home but he knew she missed her mother dearly.

“You two should board the train. It will be leaving soon” Axton pointed out to them. They both looked at the train and back to their fathers.

“Do you have your wand?” Octavian asked his daughter. She panicked and started to feel the inside of her coat. “Please don’t tell me you lost your wand,” Octavian said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Olivia you put it in your boot, remember!” Ren exclaimed.

The brothers looked at each other and then back at Olivia. “Your boot?” they said in unison.

She smiled and pulled it out. “Yep, thanks Ren” she said as her sister ran up to her and gave her a hug.

“Am I coming home for Christmas?” Olivia asked, looking up at her father.

“If you wish to come home you can,” he said.  
“Jacob, you already know that you will be coming home for the Yule celebration,” Axton said sternly.

Jacob straightened his posture, “Yes father.”  
The two cousins said one last goodbye to their fathers before boarding the train.

~~~~~~~~~

Ephiliea practically giggled in joy once she was away from the condescending eyes of her relatives.

She was only polite to them because she had been taught better but if she had her way… Well, it was probably best not to think about that less she decided she really wanted to have some real target practice. And even if they thought they could use her inheritance without her permission… She giggled some more. She couldn’t wait to hear about the surprise she had left them in her vaults.

So happy she was in her own thoughts that she didn’t even realize she was going to bump into someone until it was too late. Surprised and wide-eyed, the both of them fell onto the train floor, knocking each other down because the two of them hadn’t been paying attention.

Landing unceremoniously on the ground with a loud oomph the two stared at each other for a split second before scrambling up to their feet to apologize.

“I’m so sorry” they said at the same time, laughing a little for being in sync. “No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Wait…”

“No really…" They said at the same time. They both paused and looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

“I’m Ephiliea” said Ephiliea, once the giggles died down. She smiled at the girl and boy and realized they might be related seeing how similar they looked to one another. She gave them a courteous curtsy before reaching out her hand to shake.

The girl blinked large grey eyes at her in slight confusion before reaching out her own hand to shake Ephiliea’s while the boy frowned a little.

“I’m Olivia” the other introduced “And this is my cousin Jacob.”

“Pleasure” replied Jacob smoothly, taking Ephiliea’s hand when she offered it to him. Instead of shaking it though, he took it gently and bowed to give it a kiss on the back as a proper gentleman would.

Olivia made a strangled sound in the back of her throat at the action causing Ephiliea to laugh.

“Pureblood customs” she explained gently, seeing the bewildered look in the brunette’s eyes.

“Now that I see you guys closely… Let me guess, Alexandria, no?”

“That we are” replied Jacob, not missing a beat and giving her a charming smile. “Perhaps we could take this introduction somewhere else m’lady?” Ephiliea subtly looked around and silently agreed, humming a little underneath her breath. It was getting more crowded as more and more students boarded the train. And if they didn’t find seats soon they would all be taken up in a little while. “You can sit with us if you’d like. We were just in the middle of finding our own seats as well” he offered, snapping her attention back onto him.

She smiled at them. “Lead the way Monsieur Alexandria.”  
He held out his arm and she giggled before hooking her arms with Olivia’s. Jacob pouted at the slight but smiled as Ephiliea gave him a teasing one. Olivia smiled at them and shared a secretive look with the shorter girl.

After walking around a bit and pushing against some rather rude people, Jacob finally secured a compartment for them. He walked in and hulled both his and Olivia’s trunks into the top holders and offered a hand to Ephiliea who shook her head politely, declining the offer of help. He frowned slightly but nodded.

“Well, that was certainly much harder than I thought it would be” sighed Olivia, falling ungracefully onto one of the seats with obvious relief in her form. “It wasn’t as fun as it looked.”

Ephiliea nodded knowingly and closed the door behind her, casting a small privacy and locking spell discreetly as she walked in. “It certainly is quite different” she agreed lightly, sitting beside the brunette and feeling just as tired as the other.

They grinned at each other and turned to Jacob only to see him looking at them with a rather complex look on his handsome face. They laughed, seeing his expression which only served to make him even more confused before shaking his head in what could only be exasperation.

“I can already tell you two are going to be trouble” he said with mock horror.

“Awww please, Alexandria. I’m sure we can’t be that awful” replied Ephiliea, winking conspiringly at Olivia. “After all, what could two innocent young ladies possibly do in the short amount of time they have known each other?” She sighed dramatically. “Woe is he to deal with such night time terrors.”

Olivia burst out into giggles and even Jacob cracked a smile at her antics.

“Well that makes the three of us then!” chirped the taller girl, pulling her hair out of her face as she made to sit up. Ephiliea quietly marveled at the sight, seeing as the light brown wavy hair seemed to just seamlessly fall back into place. There were strands of dark brown mixed into the light browns and together the two colors brought out the grey in the other’s eyes.

Caught off guard, Ephiliea gave her a confused look as she processed the other’s words.

“We don’t see each other often,”he clarified. “She’s transferring into Hogwarts this year.”

“Ahhh” said Ephiliea, a knowing look in her eyes. “I see… Well… At least we can all learn to be terrors together.” They all smiled slightly at the comment.

It seemed like the start of this journey wasn’t going to be too bad.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Olivia looked out the window; there was rain falling. They had only been on the train for three hours. She sighed and looked over at Ephiliea who was also looking out the window. They locked eyes with each other and then looked at Jacob. He was reading a potions book. He felt their stares at him and looked up from his book.

“Train ride boring you two now is it?” he said sarcastically.

“Don’t get me wrong Alexandria. I’ve been on long train rides before but this is unbearable” she said laying her head back on the head rest.

“Well get used to it. This is going to be our lives for the next three years” he said with a sarcastic smile.

She snorted and moved her eyes upward as if it would alleviate her boredom. Spotting something, she quirked an eyebrow at Olivia. “Is that your family crest?” Ephiliea asked, curious.

Olivia looked up at her trunk, “Oh no that’s my school’s crest” she said with a smile.

“Yes, Father told me you went to that wizarding school in America. What’s the name… Morney?” he said trying to guess.

“It’s Ilvermorny” Olivia said, correcting him.

“Oh that’s cool, I was home schooled before. Now that I live with my aunt and uncle they want me to go to Hogwarts” Ephiliea said, frowning, thinking about her aunt and uncle.

They went back into a comfortable silence after that. Jacob continued his reading, Ephiliea decided to take a nap and Olivia took out her journal. Olivia loved sketching in her free time.

Her father had given her a beautiful leather bound notebook with the family crest on it when she turned eleven. While she was drawing a trolley woman came past the compartment door.

“Would you like something?” he asked politely. Olivia shook her head.

“No, I have some snacks in my bag” she said, patting her backpack.

“Come on, I insist. Father gave me money for the journey” he said pulling out his money pouch.

Ephiliea popped up, “Well since you are offering may I have a chocolate frog please” she asked innocently.

Olivia scrunched up her face, “What the heck is a chocolate frog?” she asked, disgusted.

“Make that two chocolate frogs” Ephiliea said, smiling at Jacob.

“I thought you were sleeping?” Jacob asked puzzled.

Ephiliea chuckled, “I was never asleep; my eyes were just resting. My senses on the other hand were not. Now hurry before you miss the trolley” Ephiliea said waving him off. He sighed and without protest chased after the trolley. “So how are you adjusting to life in the UK?” Ephiliea asked.

“It’s ok, I miss my friends. I moved here four months ago after mom died” she said shrugging her shoulders. It’s not like she had a choice. She had no family in America. All her family was in the UK. Her mother’s family was all dead and her father was all she had. She and her father had a good relationship. Olivia would write to him every week and he would write back. She even spent Christmas with him every year. The only reason the rest of her family tolerates her is because she is blood.

“So are you excited for school?” Olivia asked.

Ephiliea shrugged, “School is school.”

Olivia nodded in understanding, Jacob opened the door to the compartment. He was holding three chocolate frogs and a box of Bertie Botts. He handed them each a frog and he sat back down. Olivia examined the candy.

Ephiliea smirked as she watched Olivia examine it.

“It’s just chocolate” Ephiliea said.

“There’s even a cool trading card inside!” Jacob exclaimed.

“So it’s not a frog?” she asked them both.

They booth shook their heads and smiled. Olivia slowly opened the package and smiled, it was just a frog then all of a sudden it moved. Olivia looked at the frog amazed. The frog croaked and jumped out of the box. Jacob caught it and Ephiliea laughed, “See, just chocolate” she giggled.

“Enchanted chocolate” Jacob said, taking a bite out of its head.

All three of them laughed as the train continued its journey to Hogwarts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They watched as the sun began to set in the skies and the darkness of the night settled in.

Ephiliea huffed out a breath to see it materialize in front of her. The rain hadn’t let up throughout the rest of the train ride and had only gotten heavier as the night wore on.

“Wow, it’s getting really cold” said Olivia, shivering a little where she sat.

Ephiliea hummed in agreement and stood up. Jacob moved to follow her.

“We should put on our robes now. Hogwarts should be just around the corner” he informed them, reaching for his trunk to pull out his school robes. He pulled down Olivia’s as well who scrambled up to help him. “I’ll leave now so you guys can change. Leave the trunks where they are. They’ll magically transport them to your rooms later while we are at the feast. I’ll see you guys later.”

“Bye Jacob” said Olivia cheerfully while Ephiliea gave the male teen a nod of her head. He left the compartment leaving the two girls alone.

Olivia hurried to put on her robe, fumbling a bit as she did so in her haste.

“Nervous?” asked Ephiliea sympathetically, eyeing the girl across from her with a critical eye.

Olivia flushed in embarrassment. “Yeah…” she agreed, forcing herself to slow down so that she can put on her robes correctly. “I mean” she said sitting down once she was done, “It wasn’t… this wasn’t exactly… planned.” She cleared her throat nervously, looking down at the floor. She looked up when she felt a small hand on her shoulder to see Ephiliea smiling at her gently.

“I understand” said the other quietly. “This wasn’t planned for me either.”

Olivia looked at her friend with uncharacteristic sharpness in her eyes before softening her expression. Despite only knowing the other for a little while, she could tell there was more to her new friend than what meets the eye. Ephiliea seemed like a nice cheerful girl but there was something about her that Olivia couldn’t place. It was slightly concerning for her because she could tell whatever had happened or whatever it was about held a great impact on the other teen girl.

Even though Olivia wasn’t the brightest or even most observant person, she knew there was something wrong but it wasn’t her place to question the other about it. At least, for now that is. Though they had only just met Olivia felt she could trust the other with her life. She gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

“Of course, what are friends for?” said Ephiliea teasingly, smiling when Olivia smiled at her too.

“Wait! Aren’t you going to wear your robes too?” Ephiliea smirked then before stepping back a little and raised an eyebrow expectantly at the other. Confused, Olivia continued to stare until it clicked. “Oh! Why didn’t I think of that!?” she exclaimed.

Ephiliea was already wearing her Hogwarts robes.

“Only the smart ones live easy” drawled Ephiliea languidly, ruining her image of a stuck up snot by striking a ridiculous pose. Olivia laughed at the impression, falling into her seat with mirth as tears gathered in her eyes. “Oh!” exclaimed Ephiliea, walking to the window and staring out.

“How beautiful.”

She held her breath as she felt the being that was Hogwarts, inhaling sharply as she felt the old castle reach out to all of them, welcoming them back home with a warmth of magic that reached her very core. She closed her eyes and smiled, feeling at peace and slowly reached out with a little bit of her own magic to greet the ancient one. Hogwarts’ magic gently brushed against hers as if saying hello and Ephiliea chuckled a little, feeling what could only be described as if someone had wrapped her up in a warm hug.

“What? What is it?” asked the brunette, stepping up to the window as well but seeing nothing but darkness and trees.

Ephiliea laughed. “Feel” she instructed softly but firmly, taking a hold of Olivia’s hand.

Confused, the taller girl frowned in concern and confusion but she too gasped when she felt the tingle run along her body. Automatically she snapped her eyes closed as she felt…something, wrap around her warmly in a hug. Tears threatened to fall with the feeling of homesickness but she couldn’t help but giggle in delight at the overwhelming feeling of belonging. It felt like her mother was welcoming her back. It felt like home.

“What was that?” she breathed, turning to Ephiliea with wide eyes and staring at the shorter girl in amazement. Ephiliea still had a peaceful smile on her face but with those words it turned playful.

“Why magic of course” she replied cheekily. Olivia made a noise of discontent at the ridiculous answer, but was distracted when Ephiliea pulled her closer to the window. “Look! It’s Hogwarts! We’re home!”

Olivia snapped her attention out the window and gasped in awe. The castle stood in all its glory, like a beacon of light, in the stormy night. She unconsciously let go of Ephiliea’s hand to touch the glass window, amazed. “Wow this is…” She turned to Ephiliea, words unable to describe what she was feeling.

“Home” the other supplied.

Olivia smiled. “Yeah…Home.” They both looked back out the window, staring at the castle that would be theirs for the next year or so.

Welcome to Hogwarts they both thought in excitement.


	2. A Sorting of Prejudice

They joined the crowd of students rushing to get off the train and out of the rain. Olivia grimaced beside her and Ephiliea chuckled before pulling out her wand. With a snap, the taller girl was dry and warm. Startled, Olivia stared at her.

“Magic darling, or did you forget you were a witch?” She snorted.

“Oh I don’t know dear. I guess I didn’t see that magical castle we are going to be living in for the next couple of months or so” she quipped back.

“Indeed” replied Ephiliea solemnly, causing Olivia to roll her eyes at the other with a chuckle. They both stepped off the train and onto the muddy ground causing Olivia to grimace.

“What about you?” she asked seeing her friend actually getting wet.

“I like the rain” shrugged Ephiliea gracefully, putting her wand back in its holster, not minding the mud that was now stuck on her boots or the wet feeling of her robes. Olivia stared enviously at how such a casual gesture looked so elegant on her friend without Ephiliea even trying to look what she could only imagine to be “lady-like”. “Anyway, did they tell you where we are supposed to go?”

And as if on cue they heard a large deep voice bellowing out in the night air “Firs’ years o’er ‘ere! Firs’ years an’ transfer studen’s! Firs’ years! O’er ‘ere!”

“Well, that certainly answers my question” said Ephiliea, laughing along with Olivia as the other chuckled.

They stepped towards the direction of the voice with haste, Olivia because of her distaste of mud and rain and Ephiliea because of the crowd. The smaller girl loved the rain but if there was one negative thing about it was that it tended to bring the worst kind of chaos in the minds of humans. It was as if they developed some sort of recklessness and stupidity whenever rain was present and one thing she absolutely abhorred was stupidity in its finest.

They side-stepped the students and weaved through the throng of adolescents. Olivia may have had longer steps but she didn’t have the same skill Ephiliea had with avoiding contact with people. She made it look like a sport!

Huffing at her own thoughts Olivia quickly tried to catch up to her smaller companion, completely not seeing the incoming person on her left, too focused on following her friend. When she realized the person wasn’t stopping, it was too late. She being uncoordinated as she already was, tried to abort but the suddenness of her action and her two left feet and the other’s rather quick steps and late response had them resulting in a jumble mess on the muddy floor.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” said the obviously male voice. “Look at what you did! I’m all muddy now.”

Insulted, Olivia snapped back. “You watch where you’re going! You bumped into me first!”

“Excuse me” the other sneered. “Do you know who you’re talking to?”

“The most irritable asshole on the earth.”

The other humphed in annoyance which only served to irritate Olivia even more. “I’m the one and only gorgeous and amazing Sirius Black and you just got on my bad side” he said in the most holier-than-thou-you-don’t-even-deserve-the-grace-of-my-presence voice Olivia has ever heard.

Seeing red, Olivia opened her mouth to retort but didn’t get to when three bodies appeared before them.

“Oi! Sirius mate! Are you alright? We just saw you get creamed by a girl” hollered one of them laughing uproariously. He was obviously amused and was even making fun of his friend’s misfortune.

Olivia decided in this instant that she didn’t like any of them.

“James!” reprimanded another. “They could be seriously hurt!” Okay… Maybe not all of them.

“Oh come on Remmy! You have to admit that was funny! That’s what Sirius gets for showing off and bragging about all his shit earlier” said this ‘James’ person. “Don’t you agree Peter?” he asked, ignoring ‘Sirius’’ indignant shout from the ground.

“Ha ha ha. Yeah,” said ‘Peter’ nervously. Olivia fumed where she was, standing up in distaste and absolutely furious with all the mud she had on her uniform now. She almost cried. Almost. It had been brand new and her father had bought it for her to start school with. ‘Sirius’ stood up too, just as disgruntled.

“Apologize” he demanded.

“Sirius!”

“Excuse me” Olivia deadpanned. It was not her fault if her voice came out a little shrilly. Who did this bastard think he was ordering her around?!

“You heard me” he snipped back. This arrogant little…

“I think you should be the one apologizing” said a cold familiar voice. Olivia turned around in surprise, almost breathing out a sigh of relief.

“Ephiliea!” Even in the dark, Olivia could feel the other girl’s amusement at her response. She flushed in embarrassment but was all too happy for a little support against these idiots.

“Like I said, I think you owe my friend an apology” Ephiliea stated, looking straight at this Sirius guy without flinching. “You did bump into her and it would only be gentlemanly if you said sorry.” Olivia shivered. She didn’t think Ephiliea could ever sound so…dark? Cold? Certainly, she didn’t sound evil but she didn’t exactly sound nice either.

They both watched as ‘Sirius’ and his group of friends straightened up. Well at least most of them. Olivia could see how the ‘Peter’ person- at least that’s who she thought it was- seemed to shrivel up and hide behind the others trying to make him smaller as if to avoid the conflict.

“Oh?” he said half mockingly, half seriously. “And who are you to tell me what to do, huh? I bet you’re a Slytherin. All of you are nothing but nasty little…”

“Sirius!” said ‘Remus’. This time his voice was sharper than all his other reprimands and this instantly made the arrogant little shit- uhh she meant asshole- shut up.

Ephiliea sighed as if something grieved her deeply. “Well… I was being nice” she said, giving them a bland smile. It turned into a smirk and before anyone could have stopped her or seen her drawing it, pulled out her wand and murmured a spell.

Olivia stared wide eyed and jaw gaping as a huge tidal wave of mud rose up from the ground and crashed into the four boys. She giggled, almost insanely, at the sight and stumbled when Ephiliea’s hand grabbed hers and started dragging her away amidst the angry and surprised shouts from the boys. They were moving quickly away without giving any of the boys a chance to chase them down for revenge.

Ephiliea gave Olivia a pointed look. “I don’t even want to know how you got into that” she stated, waving her wand around, banishing the mud off Olivia’s robe.

The tall girl sighed thankfully. “Thanks.”

“Anytime, dear.”

They stopped when they finally found the owner of the loud voice. “Ah! There ye is! We’ve been waitin’ fer ya!”

Everybody around him turned around to look at them, some in irritation but most of them were more nervous and cold than anything, and Ephiliea waved half-heartedly in greeting. She was feeling rather sheepish having made them wait in the rain and cold for so long. Not everybody appreciated this kind of weather. Only three of the people in the small group looked to be older- other transfers she thought- while the rest of them looked like first years.

Olivia paused nervously, staring at the…huge man with trepidation and stuttered for something to say.

“Why thank you mister. That was quite kind of you” responded Ephiliea smoothly giving the man a sweet smile while covering for her friend’s lack of response. The huge man gave a beaming one back.

“Ahhh, none o’ tha’ mis’er stuff. Hagrid would be just fine” he said bashfully with a slight blush before clearing his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Alrightie then. Now that we are all ‘ere… I am Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper and Keeper of the Keys and Ground of Hogwarts. Now, stick close toget’er and watch yer steps. It’s muddy.”

The little group followed him as they walked through the thickets of the nearby woods with his lamp being the only source of light. Seeing everybody struggle- she almost wanted to laugh at how unfit these people were including Olivia- Ephiliea sighed before waving a water repelling charm on everybody, surprising most of them. They turned to look at her for a second but gave her grateful smiles or nods before continuing with their trek until they came to the edge of a shore where little boats were floating. “No more an’ four ter a boat!” said the groundskeeper, claiming a boat all to himself.

Seeing Olivia’s face Ephiliea chuckled. “I hope you’re not afraid of the water.” She gave Ephiliea a scared look who leaned in conspiratorially, seeing how several other interested ears were listening in on their conversation. “I’ve heard that everybody who has touched these waters while crossing were taken off their boats by a mysterious monster and then drowned.”

Olivia swallowed nervously, staring at her in disbelief. “I’m sure the groundskeeper would help though wouldn’t he?” she asked.

Ephiliea almost wanted to smirk at how everybody was tensely waiting for her answer. She shook her head in response. “It’s why he gets his own boat” she said in her most solemn voice, before deciding to get in a boat. She threw Olivia a positively innocent smile before raising an eyebrow in challenge. Olivia giggled nervously.

“Alright! Come on now! We’ve gotta get goin’. Four ter a boat!”

Against her will Olivia stepped into the same boat as Ephiliea. “Please don’t push me off.”

Ephiliea did smirk then. “No promises” she singsonged. And everybody else reluctantly got into a boat as well. “Don’t worry. At least the view will be beautiful.”

Hagrid dropped them off in front of a large set of oak doors, knocking against them with such a loud thud that startled some of the younger students at the unexpected loudness. The doors creaked open to reveal a rather strict looking woman and Ephiliea wanted to laugh at the picture. It looked like they were about to walk to their deaths rather than enter a school.

“Thank you Hagrid.”

The gamekeeper blushed. “No problem Pr’fessor McGonagall.”

She gave him a dismissing nod and led them into the gigantic hall before turning her attention to the small group, eyeing each and every one of them with strict and solemn eyes though there was a tiny shimmer of warmth in them. Ephiliea met her eyes head on when they finally landed on her and raised an eyebrow when a tick appeared on the older woman’s brow when Ephiliea refused to look away. The professor almost seemed, dare she say it, amused or worried.

“Students. Welcome to Hogwarts. I am pleased to see all of you have made it safely here to your new home for the next couple of months. I am honored to be able to teach all of you and hope that tonight will be your first steps of your lives and future.” She gave them all a slight smile then before frowning. “I know that some of you here” she looked at the older transfers “are here because of the current hard and trying times but I assure you, that while you are here, you will be safe and allowed to grow under the protection of Hogwarts and all of her professors and protectors.” The smile returned. “Now, I officially welcome you to Hogwarts” she said, opening the doors wider to let the students walk in. “And I believe all of you are in need of a little cleaning.” And with a flick and swish of her wand, all of them were clean from the mud and dry and warm. Most of them were grateful for this.

Ephiliea and Olivia shared excited looks as they followed the stern professor inside and to another set of double doors. “First years will be sorted first” she instructed as they stood outside waiting for the sorting. “Transfers will be sorted after them at the end.” Ephiliea winked at Olivia and Olivia giggled. “Now then, let us begin.”

Ephiliea whistled, earning a slight glare from Professor McGonagall. She smiled sheepishly. What? There were a lot of students. She turned around to whisper conspiratorially at Olivia only to chuckle at the look on the other girl’s face. She was definitely amazed.

Unknowing to them, they had caught the attention of four boys at the Gryffindor table.

“Hey look Sirius! It’s…”

“Those girls…” growled Sirius, cutting off Peter. The Black eyed the two girls angrily, still humiliated from the scene from earlier.

From next to him, Remus sighed. “Honestly, I think you deserved it” he said reasonably. “You should have just apologized. You did bump into her after all” he said, rolling his eyes before bringing his attention back onto the two girls who were standing with the rest of the transfers and first years. He could tell that the taller of the two had bumped into Sirius though she was no longer covered in mud. She had light brown wavy hair with dark brown streaks that fell to her shoulders in a fashion that told him she was probably an easy going person. Her eyes were a beautiful grey that was rather uncommon, a telling sign that she was probably a pureblood or had some pureblood heritage in her, and reminded him a little bit like Sirius’. She was fair skinned and stood a good head taller than her companion who was more on the petite side. Speaking of, her companion- the one if he recalled correctly was called ‘Ephiliea’- was almost the complete exact opposite of Sirius’ mysterious accoster in attitude. She had long black hair tamed and pulled back into an elegant fancy braid which reached the middle of her back and unlike her friend she had tanned skin with flush lips and high cheekbones. Remus flushed despite himself. He knew she was going to grow up to be quite beautiful and despite feeling the pureblood heritage emitting from her and her cold first impression, Remus could see she was a kind person. At least she didn’t act like some of the other pureblood girls he knew of. He blinked out of his reverie when James’ voice reached his ears.

“Yeah! And did she really have to throw mud on us like that!?” he exclaimed, pointing to their robes which still hadn’t been cleaned. Well, Remus’ were clean but the other three were too lazy to clean theirs and despite their pleas and puppy eyes, their resident ‘good boy’ of the group hadn’t fallen for their tactics to freshen them up.

“Huh?”

“Gosh Remmy. I swear sometimes you ignore us on purpose” pouted Sirius.

Remus snorted at the ridiculous look on his friend’s face. “Well when you guys are being idiots like that, it’s actually not hard to ignore.”

“Hey!”

Remus laughed but turned his attention back to the professor’s table when Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. Somehow he just knew this year was going to be interesting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Olivia and Ephiliea stood with the rest of the transfers. They watched as the first years got sorted.

Olivia examined all the tables. Her father had told her about some of the houses. She knew the students with red were Gryffindors. She looked along that table and saw the evil Sirius boy.

She definitely did not want to be in the same house as him! She looked over at the yellow table next. Her father had said they were Hufflepuffs. Her father told her they were a loyal house and that made her pause. She didn’t think that house was right for her. Gazing away, she looked over at the blue robed table.

‘Ravenclaw, clever house’ remarked her father’s voice in her head.

Then she looked over at the house she knew all too well. The green robed table. The house of the snake, Slytherin. All of her father's family had been in Slytherin. She looked down the table and spotted Jacob.

He looked over at his cousin and offered her a small smile. Olivia smiled and waved at him. He seemed so much looser at school then he was with his father. She could relate to the feeling. Ephiliea tapped her friend, "Hey, looks like we're up" she said as they watched the last first year get sorted. Professor McGonagall looked over at the five transfer students. "Now for our transfers, when you hear your name please step forward" she stated.

The five students all shared a grimace, sympathy lined on their faces despite not actually sharing any actual words with each other. Even if they weren’t first years it seems like they were going to be “sorted” like one. Professor McGonagall called up a sixth year first, then a fifth year. Then Professor McGonagall called up Ephiliea.

Olivia smiled at her, "Good luck" she whispered with a smile.

Ephiliea looked back at her and smirked, "Luck has nothing to do with it" she said before she walked up to get sorted.

Ephiliea sat down on the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head. The sorting hat sighed, "Ah… Rich history runs through your blood. But do you even know what this history is? Ha! Don’t be silly girl! Scoffing at me… Yes, yes… The sorting… Of course I know how to do my own job…That doesn’t mean I can’t… Sigh. Very well then I will as you say ‘get on with it’. But yes… Hmmm… Oh! I see it quite clearly. A loyal heart you have and yet… Ohhhh I see now. Yes, it was my mistake wasn’t it child? Very well, very well then if you and I have both come to a consensus then you belong in… Hufflepuff!" the sorting hat exclaimed. Ephiliea hid a smirk and took off the hat, handing it back to the professor who was staring at her with slight shock before hopping off the stool. She was greeted kindly by her new housemates if not a bit warily.

Smiling, she sat down next to a guy who gave her an easy smile in return and introduced himself as Adrian. He shook Ephiliea's hand and before she could take it back placed a playful kiss on it giving her a wink, "Welcome to the party" he said with a flirtatious smile.

"Glad I was invited" she replied back with a slight smirk. They both shared a knowing look before her attention was drawn back to the front where Olivia’s name was being called.

At the name, all the marauders looked up as well. "Olivia, so that's her name" Sirius said, scowling at her.

"Her scary Hufflepuff friend's name is Ephiliea" Peter said.

"Surprised she's a ‘Puff. If I had to guess I would have said she was a Slytherin" James whispered to Sirius.

"Bet you ten galleons that she's in Slytherin mate" Sirius bet James with a smile pointing at Olivia.

"You’re on! You two in?" James said turning to Peter and Remus.

"Definitely Slytherin" Peter said, agreeing with his two friends.

"I don't know, I don't think she will be in Slytherin" Remus admitted as he watched her sit on the stool. “And besides, I thought you two were betting against each other. How would it work if the both of you are betting the same thing?”

"Fine. Three against one then" shrugged Sirius, disregarding Remus’ words with a wave of his hand as he also looked towards the front.

Professor McGonagall placed the hat on the transfer’s head.

"Oh an Alexandria, a family known for its Slytherin background" the hat said. Olivia looked at her cousin and they both shared a look of slight amusement. "But I know where you truly belong… Gryffindor!"

Olivia's eyes went wide.

The three marauders groaned and Remus smiled, "So do each of you owe me 10 Galleons then?" He laughed when they scowled at him.

Olivia got off the stool and walked over to her new house. They clapped and cheered. She looked over at her cousin who was also wide eyed.

One of Jacob's friends leaned over to him, "I did not know you had a sister mate" he said.

"She's my cousin" Jacob said, correcting his friend.

Olivia sat down next to a blond girl and looked over to the Hufflepuff table and saw Ephiliea talking to the boy right next to her. Olivia turned back to the front as the headmaster stood up.

"For those returning welcome back and for those who are new welcome home! I am Professor Dumbledore the headmaster" the old man said with a genial smile. "A few announcements first before the feast which our kind house elves have made for us and I know all of you are looking quite forward to.” He looked at them gravely, eyes turning solemn which had more than a few students sitting straighter. “I know all of you are aware of the current war and that even in these harsh times, it is hard to find the light in this seeming long dark tunnel but I can assure you! I can assure you that while you are in this school, you will be safe from any danger." He gave each table a long hard stare before once again adopting a grandfatherly smile.

He gave the students a few other rules before they all started to enjoy their food. Everyone enjoyed the dinner and dessert. People sat and chattered excitingly reconnecting with friends, talking about their summer, and the school year ahead.

Olivia sat and ate her food quietly while Ephiliea chatted with the boy she had met.

"So you have been home schooled till now?" Adrian asked, curious. Ephiliea nodded her head.

"Yes" she said with an amused smile.

"So you have no friends?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow in challenge. "For your information, I do have friends" she said in her haughtiest voice, crossing her arms for effect.

Adrian put his hand to his ear. "Go on, I'm listening. Tell me of these so called friends then Selwyn" he said jokingly.

Ephiliea smirked and turned and pointed to the Gryffindor table. "The girl with light and dark brown hair. Her name is Olivia and she’s my friend."

Then she turned to the Slytherin table. "And him, his name is Jacob. He's my friend too" she said with a smug smile.

Adrian nodded, "Okay two friends. And how long have you known these friends of yours?" he asked.

"Just met them today" she answered matter of factly. The two looked at each other silently before breaking out into a fit of laughter. The people around them stared at them strangely but they ignored them in favor of their mirth.

After dinner when everyone was dismissed Olivia and Ephiliea followed their house prefects up to where they would be staying for the next year.

Ephiliea and Adrian walked companionably to the Hufflepuff common room with Adrian telling the new transfer bits and tidbits of the different parts of Hogwarts they walked through or past. Olivia followed the crowd of Gryffindors as she walked by herself. While she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings, Sirius snuck up behind her, "Still waiting for that apology" he exclaimed and snickered when she eeped and jumped a little.

Olivia spun around and was face to face with the black haired boy. She was about to say something- mostly likely unflatteringly- but someone beat her to it.

"Leave her alone Black!" a girl with red hair said stepping in front of Olivia.

"Well if it isn't Lily" James said coming up behind Sirius and throwing her a lazy smile.

Lily rolled her eyes at James and then turned back to Sirius, “Why on Earth would she need to apologize to you?” she asked.

“If you must know she and her evil friend splashed mud on me!” he said, crossing his arms.

Lily looked back at Olivia and smirked, “Really?” she asked curiously. Olivia nodded, “Well then the school owes you a debt of gratitude. Hi, I’m Lily Evans” Lily said, shaking Olivia’s hand.

“My name’s Olivia. It’s nice to meet you” she said with a smile, liking this girl already.

The two girls started to converse, ignoring the four boys who just watched them with confusion.

Sirius looked back and forth at the two girls before stomping his foot. “Hello! We are still here!” he said waving his hands.

The girls paid him no mind.

“You know what you might be my roommate” Lily said.

Olivia gasped, “Really, how do you know?” she asked curiously.

“One of my roommates is not coming back this year because of personal reasons so that leaves a bed open in my room” Lily explained.

“Awesome, we should catch up with everyone else then” Olivia said with a smile. Lily nodded and the girls left, leaving the four boys behind in shock.

They watched the girls walk away. “They just ignored me. Like we were not even here” Sirius said, stunned.

Remus came up behind Sirius and patted him on the shoulder, “It’s alright mate. Just be lucky it was not her friend” he said walking past him to follow their fellow housemates to their dorm.

~~~~~~

“…And as Professor Dumbledore said earlier, you are safe as long as Hogwarts’ walls remain standing. I promise that you too will eventually come to view Hogwarts as a second home and hopefully, Hufflepuff as your second family. We are considered the most loyal house after all” said Professor Sprout- Ephiliea’s new head of house- with a playful wink. “I hope you will find your stay here to be enjoyable and I bid you all a good night.”

There were murmurs of sentiments echoed across the common room as the youthful but kind lady dismissed them for bed. Apparently it was common for all of Hufflepuff to gather together on the first night so that they may come to at least know a little bit more about their head of house and fellow housemates- Professor Sprout pointing out small details such as the different prefects should new students need help, the passageways towards the more common classes, eating hours, etc. She had also passed out their schedules for the next morning so people were already gathering in groups to compare schedules or were heading off to bed with their stomachs full of the good food they had eaten earlier. According to Adrian, they were apparently lucky. Some of the other heads of house didn’t demand a mandatory meeting the first night and their students had to scramble around on the first couple of days looking hazard, especially the poor firsties who had no idea where they were going. He didn’t understand why the other heads passed out their students’ schedules in the morning either. What was the point of that when they could just bring the necessary book along with them to breakfast instead of double backing and wasting precious eating time?

Shaking her head to get out of her thoughts, Ephiliea stood up and took her first proper look of the place she would now call home and raised an eyebrow in amused silence. It was all rather…yellow. With the yellow- luckily it wasn’t ugly nor too bright- walls, and rich deep brown carpets accented with soft black rugs- she would know her, ass had sat on one for the past thirty minutes or so- and earthly portraits hung around the room with the warm glow and feel of the four fireplaces... It felt like a burrow, a burrow a badger would live in. She laughed at her own thoughts causing Adrian to give her an unimpressed look.

“It isn’t that bad, you know.”

“I know” she said, clutching her stomach while leaning into him, laughing harder at his indignant and unbelieving look. “I love it! It’s all burrow-ie like a bee!”

He snorted then. “Burrow-ie?”

“Yep! It’s too bad the couches are leathery instead of fluffy. That would have been so cool.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of fluffy couches before” he said skeptically.

She gave him a look then and smiled sweetly. “Maaaaggggiiiiicccc~” she singsonged.

His eyes widened in surprise before changing to a look of absolute horror. “Oh noooo you don’t. We haven’t even been here for a full day and there’s no way…” He paused, face paling so quickly Ephiliea wanted to giggle. “Oh no… Oh sweet Merlin… Please don’t tell me you’re like them.”

“Like who?” she questioned with her most innocent look.

Adrian shook his head back and forth quickly, muttering underneath his breath- some words sounding suspiciously like “marauders” and “hell driven”- before backing up quickly. He made a face, a comical one, before running down the stairs to the boy’s side of the dormitory.

Ephiliea laughed then before heading down her own flight of stairs, smothering her giggles behind her hand. Adrian was so fun to tease.

Calming herself down she hummed softly as she went to find her room. Seeing the plaque with her name on it, she opened the door and the good natured humor on her face disappeared as she took in the hostile looks thrown at her from her new roommates. There were five of them altogether and unconsciously, Ephiliea straightened, her mask of polite disdain automatically settling down on her in self-defense.

Oh how she abhorred people like this. Two of the girls were sitting closely on the bed and judging by their postures and wary faces Ephiliea only knew too well what had been the topic of their conversation before she walked in. Two more were sitting by their feet and the last of the group was standing with her arms crossed, staring straight at Ephiliea with a scowl marring her otherwise pretty face.

“A Selwyn, huh? I wonder what kind of dark magic you casted on the hat to put you in Hufflepuff” she said with an ugly sneer. “But I’m not surprised. I guess ilk stays with ilk. Being rather buddy-buddy with Crux aren’t you?”

“Huh?” Ephiliea mocked, throwing on a face of stupidity. “I wouldn’t know would I? Why don’t you tell me if I did dark magic seeing as you’re such the expert. After all, I don’t practice any of that” which was a lie through and through but the bitch wouldn’t know that or prove it with evidence. How dare she stereotype Ephiliea like that! She hadn’t even met her yet.

Ephiliea scoffed and gave the girl a one down. Dirty blonde hair, dark eyes, a straight nose with dark freckles splattered across the cheeks, sorted in Hufflepuff with a sour face and even worser attitude… She was definitely a Macmillan. “And you’ve got a little crush on Adrian I see? Well if you’re so jealous, what are you going to do about it Macmillan?”

Macmillan hissed. “Everybody knows your family’s dark! I bet you’re just waiting for one of us to go to sleep and you’ll run off to He-who-must-not-be-named to…” She startled and took a step back as the temperature in the room lowered dramatically and turned backwards to look at her group of friends to see that they too were surprised and startled, scared even. She looked around frantically when she realized that none of them were the source of sudden magic. She turned accusingly at Ephiliea. “Stop doing that Selwyn!”

“Doing what?” replied Ephiliea calmly even as she gave them a shit eating grin. “Oh? You’re scared now? Scared because of a little bit of magic are you?” she mocked threateningly, stepping forward.

Her grin widened when Macmillan took several steps back, almost tripping over one of the cowering girls on the floor who were trying to scramble onto the bed with the other two. “Then I guess you should watch what you say before you accuse someone of something you little piece of shit” she hissed, letting her magic snap out around her.

The girls screamed in terror and huddled closely together as they could as the things in the room began to shake. “And I’ll have you know” she said, fixing her posture to a less threatening form despite her eyes still remaining slightly bloodthirsty. “If you ever dare insult one of my friends ever again…” Her grin disappeared, leaving the group of girls terrorized. “I’ll always remember your faces” she said lightly. “Oh! And I will be returning. This is my dorm too and I won’t be having me kicked out of my own bed so if you think you’ve gotten rid of me, think again… If you can that is…Nice way to start off the year, right? It was lovely meeting all of you by the way.” She gave them one last glare before storming out of the room, slamming the door shut as she did so.

So much for a good first impression she thought as she ran up the stairs only to pause as she looked down another. She bit her bottom lip before quickly descending them.

“Hey!” shouted several voices. Ephiliea glared at them all and was satisfied with their quick and nervous cowing.

“Selwyn! This is the boys’ dorm!” shouted Adrian, coming out of the bathroom with nothing but his boxers on when he heard the commotion and caught sight of her standing calmly in the middle of the room expertly ignoring the chaos.

“Sleep with me Adrian.”

He paused midstep and looked at her incredulously before spluttering. “Wha…Whaaattttt!?”

“I’m not giving you a choice.”

Adrian spluttered some more, the other boys in his room doing the same though more than one of them were giving them leers. “I don’t… I…”

“Good” she said with finality, flashing them all a brilliant smile before snatching his arm and proceeded to drag him out of his dorm room.

Adrian gaped at her all the way up to the common room and was not surprised to see that no one was in it. Not only was it late but most people, especially in Hufflepuff, enjoyed their sleep time. In their own bed. They weren’t like studious Ravenclaws who stayed up late into the nights or early mornings studying or reading a good book, or like Gryffindors who partied all night or did stupid things like…like whatever they did, and they weren’t even like Slytherins who… To be honest, Adrian didn’t know what Slytherins got up to. They probably planned murders and organized weird cult things or maybe even had mass orgies together or… Well, whatever they did Hufflepuffs didn’t! They liked sleeping, in their own beds in their own rooms in… He paused in his thoughts as he actually gave Selwyn a good look.

“Well… we could always have a sleep over together?” he questioned uncertainly and almost sighed in relief when Selwyn finally looked up at him. She gave him a tremulous smile.

“Thanks.”

He smiled back at her before waving his wand- thanked Merlin he had thought ahead and grabbed it before getting out of the bathroom- and summoned some pillows and blankets. His smile widened when he heard Selwyn laughing again and with a lot more enthusiasm, the two of them began making some sort of fort for themselves, falling on each other as they struggled to stand on the soft pillows and lumpy blankets. He could still tell that something was bothering her though and had a niggling suspicion as to what. It wasn’t hard to figure out, not with a last name like hers and a war like this going on.

“So, rough introduction?” he huffed out, settling on his stomach to turn to look at her once the both of them were settled down and satisfied with their beds for the night.

Ephiliea huffed before slashing her arm in a hazardous motion causing the fires in the pits to dim. Adrian’s eyes widened at the seemingly ease of wandless magic but was distracted from commenting as Ephiliea copied his position to look at him as well.

“Somethin’ like that” she muttered.

He hummed and they locked eyes. “Don’t let them get you down” he said seriously. “They’re all prejudiced arses.” She cracked him a smile. “And besides, you have me as a friend now and I’m a ‘Puff. This is about as loyal as a friend you can get.” Ephiliea snorted at him. “It’s true” he teased. “And it’s just another good thing that I’m gorgeous to look at.”

Ephiliea laughed then. Adrian was rather good looking with his honey brown eyes contrasting beautifully against his short dark brown hair. The low dim of the fireplaces only brought more attention to his pureblood lineage but she knew that even in the light of day he would look like a prince out of a story book.

“Yeah I guess I am rather lucky you’re pretty handsome. Otherwise, I think I would be having nightmares sleeping next to you and your loathsome self.” Adrian laughed. “Thank you” she said sincerely, gripping his hand.

“You’re welcome.”

“Good. Now close your eyes and turn around. I need to change into my pajamas!”

“Just sleep naked like me!”

“You aren’t even naked!” she accused.

He waggled his eyebrows. “You don’t know~” he said in his most seductive voice before turning around and slowly covered his eyes with his hands to tell her he wasn’t looking.

Ephiliea chuckled and quickly changed before cuddling back to his side. “Well if you didn’t know, I’m Ephiliea Selwyn” she introduced herself shyly, throwing out a hand to shake.

“Pleasure to meet you m’lady.” He took her hand and kissed the back of it properly this time. “And I am Adrian Crux, at your service.”


	3. First Day Shenanigans

Ephiliea smiled- maybe a little too evilly as she saw Adrian slowly inching away from her with a worried look in his eyes- before slyly moving towards a familiar head of brunette hair. She moved stealthily, well aware of the silent footfalls of her shoes and the rustling of her clothes before…

“OLIVIA!” she screamed into the brunette’s ear causing said girl to let out a piercing scream. Ephiliea cackled and danced away before her friend could recognize her and throw a fit. “That was so funny. You should have seen your face!” she managed to get out as she hid slightly behind Adrian who was trying to not laugh but was horribly failing at it.

“Ephiliea! Don’t do that! I almost had a heart attack!”

“Awww come on love. If you had a heart attack because of that… Well… Actually I think I would lose all respect for you so make sure you don’t get a heart attack from something so silly.” 

Olivia glared at her causing the petite girl to give her an innocent look. The girl with the beautiful red hair next to Ephiliea’s friend stiffened at the look and noticing the reaction, Ephiliea turned to her. Her sharp eyes narrowed slightly at the other who stiffened and straightened even more- which was rather a feat as the female was already standing rather straight before- at the open criticism. “And who might this lovely lady be?” she asked sweetly, skipping back up to them while dragging Adrian along. 

Olivia’s eyes widened when she realized they were actually holding hands but answered the question. “This is Lily, Lily Evans. She’s one of my roommates… Well actually she’s the only roommate I get along with.”

Ephiliea smiled and gave Lily a very formal curtsey. “Any friend of Olivia’s is a friend of mine. We’re all going to be great friends together!” The redhead gave her a very confused smile back before attempting to curtsey as well, not knowing what else to do. The Hufflepuff laughed before stopping the girl with a hug. “That’s just the formal stuff” she said with a wink. “Oh! And Lily Evans and darling Olivia this handsome gorgeous mouthwatering fella next to me is Adrian Crux” she said gesturing to him who rolled his eyes playfully at her before waving at them shyly. “He’s our friend too!”

“I don’t know how I got dragged into all of this” he conceded.

“Don’t worry” Olivia giggled next to Lily who was giving them all smiles. She hadn’t met people as…unique as them before. “I think she does it on purpose and everything just happens by chance.”

“Fate!” declared Ephiliea hotly. “It’s not by chance! All of this was fated! It’s been written in the stars woman!”

Olivia snorted. “Divination? Seriously? Please don’t tell me you believe in all that.”

“Yeah” agreed Lily. “Everybody knows those things aren’t real.”

“The fake stuff aren’t real” interjected Adrian. “But when true seers predict things…”

“And you believe in true seers” questioned Olivia in a disbelieving voice.

“Well…I mean I understand that it is rather hard to find a true seer but…”

“But the stars don’t lie” finished Ephiliea. “Star gazers never lie.” They all turned to look at her incredulously. “What? Star gazers? Centaurs anyone?” They all widened their eyes in understanding.

“Star gazers?” questioned Lily curiously. 

Ephiliea nodded, starting to walk. They followed her lead and she turned around so she could speak to them while facing them. “Mhhmm. It’s what they call themselves at least.” They rounded the corner to the corridor towards the Great Hall. “So, what are your schedules like?”

“We haven’t gotten them yet” replied Olivia. 

Ephiliea made a noise at the back of her throat before sharing a look with Adrian. He gave her an ‘I told you so’ look and she nodded, realizing just how good they had gotten it. “Pity.”

“We’ll get them at breakfast though” soothed Lily.

“Okay then! Let’s eat breakfast together and compare schedules when you guys get them.”

“Ahhh…well…” the redhead spluttered, before sharing a look with Adrian. “Umm…”

Ephiliea gave her a confused look who blushed before turning to Adrian for an explanation. “What she means is that most people eat only at their house tables. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody eat at someone else’s table before and…”

“Lilllyyyyyyyy!” screeched a voice making the group stop and cringe at the horrible falsetto. “What are you doing hanging with those ‘Puff heads!” 

Ephiliea watched in amazement as the shy and sweet girl did a complete 360 in personality. It was terrifying and…amazing to watch. She settled in amusement as all three of her friends bristled in indignity at this new person and turned around to lash at the poor bastard who had angered them.

“It’s Evans to you Potter! I never gave you permission to call me by my first name and I can hang out with whoever I want! You can’t order me around!”

“Leave Lily alone! She doesn’t want to hang out with you assholes! She doesn’t even like you!”

“Don’t call us ‘Puff heads! You Gryffs are so proud of yourselves you’ve got your heads stuffed up your arses.”  
Which only started a huge round of shouting and insults.

“But I’m not ordering you around Lily! I just don’t want you hanging out with losers like them!” shouted a boy in a robe striped with red and gold. He had an amazing head of wild brown hair and hazel eyes framed with thin squared glasses and seemed to be pleading to Lily while trying to be cocky at the same time. It wasn’t working if the color of Lily’s face was to say anything.

“We aren’t assholes! And how would you know if Evans doesn’t even like us! You’ve only met her last night!” shouted another boy in the same colored robe. He was rather handsome; tall with wavy black hair, beautiful grey eyes, and a chiseled face, it was a face worthy of daydreaming about, Ephiliea had to admit. But he was also most obviously a Black so she put a huge red X on that one. There goes the dream.

“At least… At least we are better than… Hufflepuffs. You guys don’t do anything!” squeaked a voice. This was another boy dressed in the red and gold lined robes. He was smaller than the other three and even as he jumped into the fray, his form was still cowering and the flighty eyes weren’t helping. Wait…She snickered when she realized who it was that she was staring at. No wonder they sounded so familiar.

Leaning to the side like an excited child she finally got a look at the last boy in this new but familiar group. He seemed just as fond and exasperated with his friends as they argued back and forth with her own, though exasperation was the more prominent emotion. He looked world weary with scars marring his face but he held himself proud if a little tired. He had a head of sandy brown hair and as if feeling someone staring at him, light blue eyes connected with her own.

“Don’t you dare call them losers JAMES POTTER! If anything they are better than you!”

“It doesn’t matter how long we’ve known each other! We’re FRIENDS and if anything, you are assholes! Don’t think I forgot what you did the other night!”

“HAAAAA! You guys better than Hufflepuffs! You think you rule this school but let me tell you what! You aren’t as funny as you guys think you are! You’re nothing but BULLIES!”

That seemed to shock everybody into silence. Ephiliea bounced on her heels as she stared at Adrian with wide eyes. He flushed at all the attention on him.

“What?” he demanded. “It’s true” he said stubbornly, looking to her for affirmation, mouth stuck in an adorable pout as if waiting for her to disagree.

She smiled at him, grabbing his hand in a comforting gesture. He squeezed her hand back in thanks and relaxed, his tense posture from just moments ago disappearing at her silent support. It was then that she bounded over the invisible boundary line between the two groups and headed straight towards the silent one who eyed her with wide eyes and slight apprehension.

“Ephiliea Selwyn” she introduced. “Amazing first impression by the way” she winked conspiratorially as he blushed at her attention and of the reminder of last night. . “And these lovely people right here are my friends. The handsome ‘Puff being Adrian, the stunning brunette is Olivia, and the fiery redhead there as you seem to already know is the lovely Lily. And you are…?”

“I… umm... Ahem. Remus Lupin and these guys are err… James, Sirius and Peter” he replied hesitantly. 

“Nice to officially meet the arses who I threw mud at” she said cheerily “but really, we should all get going if we don’t want to miss breakfast.” She turned towards her friends once again. “Come on you guys stop flirting. We need to eat first and then you can flirt all you want afterwards.” 

Remus Lupin gaped at her as everybody else threw her horrified looks.

“We aren’t flirting!” gasped a traumatized Adrian. 

Ephiliea looked him up and down. He was about the same height as Potter but with a build more like Black’s. She then looked at this Peter guy and took in some of his features. He was a bit plumper compared to his friends but it was more like baby fat than anything else with soft features and dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. 

She hummed thoughtfully. “Hmmm… You’re right Adrian. He’s not right for you. Let’s go find another guy for you to flirt with after breakfast” she declared in a no nonsense voice that had all the purebloods in the group shuddering with how alike it was to a mother forcing…formal arranged tea dates on unwilling sons. Catching the words though, Adrian slapped himself on his head and Ephiliea laughed and skipped away. 

Everybody else had no choice but to follow in shock as she led them the rest of the way to the Great Hall.

“It looks like we have Defense Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures together” declared Ephiliea, looking at her schedule than at Olivia’s and Lily’s and ignoring everybody’s eyes on her and Adrian. Sheesh! It was as if they have never seen a group of friends eat breakfast together at the same table before! What did they expect, to eat at different tables and shout across the room? That was absolutely ridiculous! “Well technically all the houses have those classes together. Hmmm… Transfiguration and Potions with Ravenclaw, Herbology with Slytherin… Oh! Here it is. We have Charms together! Are all the other elective classes together also?” she questioned Lily who Ephiliea just happened to have spotted the nice shiny Prefect badge attached on Gryffindor’s robes.

“Oh no, not all the time. It depends on the class size. If it’s small enough, there will only be one session with everybody in it but if not, usually it’s two for two.”

“And it’s usually Ravenclaws with Hufflepuffs and Slytherins with Gryffindors. Nobody knows why even though everybody knows that when you put Slytherins and Gryffindors together it usually gets violent” added 

Adrian ignoring Lily’s mutterings of ‘idiots’ and other not so nice things. “It’s also the first time we are all taking DADA together.”

“So I’ll have lots of classes with Jacob then!” mused Olivia excitingly.

“The Slytherin friend?” questioned Adrian.

“The Slytherin friend” confirmed Olivia and Ephiliea at the same time.

“And he’s my cousin” explained Olivia to Lily who looked a little confused.

Her eyes widened in recognition. “Oh. Jacob Alexandria, right? I thought you looked familiar…”

“We all do Lily flower” giggled Ephiliea who giggled some more when Lily blushed bright red at the nickname. Potter looked up with narrowed eyes at that and Ephiliea waved teasingly at him with her fingers. He scowled at her and she stifled some laughter when Remus glared at the brunette to behave. “It’s what happens when we all breed together.”

Adrian snorted at that. “You make us sound like animals.”

“Feisty and wild and willing” she replied promptly making both Olivia and Lily blush at her crude words. “So do you have any friends in Slytherin Lily?”

“She does” answered Adrian just as Lily said ‘I do’. They all turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “What” he shrugged. “It’s the rumor mill for the past couple of years. Innocent Gryffindor girl separated from her bad boy Slytherin: will their love continue even through the hardships of rival houses – a tragic romance novel!”

Lily scowled at him and threw her spoon at him. He yelped before the nasty thing- it still had porridge on it!- could land on him. “It isn’t like that! We aren’t like that! We’re just friends!”

“Sure you are!”

She threw a fork this time.

“Hey! That could seriously take somebody out!”

“Hufflepuffs!”

“And here I thought you weren’t prejudiced or violent! You’ve just proven the stereotype for your house!”

A knife this time. Both Olivia and Ephiliea laughed at them and at Lily’s slowly turning red face.

“Adrian stop teasing her!”

“Yeah ‘Puff! Stop teasing my Lily!”

Lily turned murderous eyes on Potter causing Adrian to stifle his laughter with the other two.

“Come on you guys, let’s get out of here and get your books before class!” chuckled the Hufflepuff as she and Olivia forcefully dragged Lily away from her seat and unfinished breakfast. They shared a look and smiled. Hogwarts definitely wasn’t so bad despite the few hiccups they’ve had so far.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily, Olivia, and Ephiliea headed up to the Gryffindor tower to retrieve their books. Olivia opened the door to see her other roommates were also grabbing their books as well. Olivia smiled at them. They all ignored her and turned back to their trunks. Olivia frowned and grabbed her books. Ephiliea stood next to her bed seemingly nonchalant but while Olivia searched through her trunk the shorter of the two glared at the other girls who were lingering about. They all hurried out of the room at the sheer venom in her eyes. Ephiliea silently chuckled. At least her fear factor was still working. 

Olivia put her books in her bag and sighed at the other girls’ departure.

“So they give you the cold shoulder too” Ephiliea asked.

Olivia nodded her head sadly, “I tried being nice but they just ignored me.” 

Lily patted her on the shoulder, “Don’t worry about it. It’s not you it’s them.”

“Lily flower is right. Now come on, we don’t want to be late on the first day” Ephiliea said leading the way out of the girls’ tower.

Olivia and Lily said goodbye to Ephiliea and headed down to the dungeons for Potions. When they entered the classroom she saw her cousin waving for her to sit next to him. He pulled out her chair and she sat down. 

“Thank you Jacob.” she said with a smile. 

“You're very welcome.” 

Olivia placed out everything she needed from her bag. She and Jacob started to talk about their schedules when James, Remus, Peter and that evil Sirius boy walked in. They walked past their table and Olivia glared at Sirius. 

Remus saw Olivia and gave her a hesitant but kind smile. Her glare softened as she returned the smile.

“Not again” Jacob said low enough to where only Olivia would hear. She turned and saw the four boys walking past Lily’s table who were sitting next to a Slytherin boy. James smiled and knocked the boy’s book and parchment onto the ground on purpose. 

“You better pick that up Snivellus” Sirius said smugly.

“Leave him alone Black. You did that on purpose!” she said, turning red with anger.

Jacob got up from his seat and made his way over to them.

“Hey Potter, I think you should pick this up and give Snape here an apology” he said standing next to Snape.

Sirius stepped in front of James, “Since you want to stick up for him, you pick it up Alexandria” Sirius said with a smirk.

“I’m not the one who knocked it down Black. Plus, I would hate to see Gryffindor lose house points on the first day” he commented with a smirk knowing he had won this battle. James scowled but bent down to swiftly pick up Snape’s things and put them back on the table. 

“Whatever” he said before the four left to take their seats. Jacob turned to the onlookers and sneered at them distastefully causing them to quickly duck their heads and go back to their own conversations. 

Jacob got close to Snape and whispered to him, “Don’t just sit there and play the victim, weakling” he told him before he went to go sit back down with his cousin. 

Olivia smiled at Jacob, “That was nice of you to stand up for your friend” she commented.

Jacob looked at Olivia taken back by her comment.

“Oh he’s not my friend. I can’t stand the git” he said simply. 

She was going to ask further questions but the professor entered the room. Everyone turned their attention to the front of the class.

“Hello class, I am Professor Slughorn for those who are new. For those returning I am happy to see you all. I hope you are all ready to work hard. Next year you take your OWL’s and you must start to prepare. 

Everyone open your books and let’s get started.”

Class started and they were assigned to make sleeping draughts. Olivia was ok with potions but, compared to Jacob she was an amateur. He gathered the ingredients and gave Olivia instructions and while he chopped, she noticed him glaring at Snape. Olivia watched her cousin while she put things in the cauldron. It’s like his hatred for Snape fueled him. Olivia and Jacob were one of the first groups to finish along with 

Lily and Snape. 

Slughorn walked over to their desk and took a vial of the potion. “Good work Mister and Miss Alexandria. You may leave early if you would like” he said with an approving smile.

“Thank you professor” Jacob said with a wide smile. While they cleaned their station Slughorn checked Snape and Lily’s.

“Fantastic work you two. You never fail to impress me” he said, delighted, beaming at the two students.

Jacob held his wand tightly in his hand, ready to snap it out of anger. Olivia saw this and grabbed his wand, replacing it with a stirring stick which he broke.

“Can you please tell me why you hate him so much? Do you like him or something” Olivia asked. 

Jacob turned to her, “Never in a million years would I ever like Snape” he declared, grabbing his bag as they left the class. Olivia walked beside him trying to keep up with his long strides. “Then why do you hate him?” she asked, puzzled. 

“It’s a long story… I’ll tell you later” he said as he stopped which caught Olivia off guard. He calmed himself for a second then turned to her and smirked, “I’m sorry for my childish behavior. Now come on, let's head to Transfiguration early" he said offering to hold her books.

She handed him her book bag and they walked to their next class together. Olivia sat next to Jacob in Transfiguration. Olivia never really liked transfiguration. She never really saw the use for it. 

On their way to lunch Olivia, Lily, and Jacob saw Ephiliea and Adrian. Olivia waved to the pair of Hufflepuffs. “Hey you two, Adrian this is my cousin Jacob. Jacob this is Adrian, a friend of Ephiliea’s” Olivia said introducing them. 

They both nodded.

“Nice to meet you” Adrian said.

“Nice to meet you as well.”

They all chatted as they walked to lunch when Lily came to a realization, “Wait, Olivia we have Herbology after this. We need to go back to our room” She said, grabbing Olivia’s hand.

“Our room! That’s so far away! We are gonna miss lunch” she whined.

“It’s alright. We can save you guys a seat in the Great Hall. Just hurry back” Ephiliea said, reassuring the girls. Olivia sighed and followed after Lily.

On their way to the Great Hall Olivia was talking about Charms with a shimmer in her grey eyes. Lily laughed, “We did not even have Charms today and you are already excited. You really like it, don’t you?”

Olivia nodded, “Oh yes, I love learning charms.” she said as they walked the halls.

“What do you want to do after Hogwarts?” Lily asked curiously.

“I want to work for the FBCVNO.” Olivia explained.

Lily nodded but still looked a bit confused.

“It’s Ministry of Magic in America stuff. They make sure we stay secret to No Maj’s, non magical folk.” Olivia said simply.

“Ah” Lily said with a small smile. 

“Well I would like to do something with potions” Lily said.

Intrigued, Olivia was going to ask her about her friend Snape but decided against it. When they got into the dining hall they saw Adrian and Ephiliea messing with Jacob.

His head was on the table as the two Hufflepuffs bothered- cough, harassed, cough- him. 

“Come on Alexandria tell us of your woes” Adrian said patting him on the back.

“Yes oh cunning Slytherin tell us of your sorrows” Ephiliea said dramatically.

Jacob groaned and the Hufflepuffs laughed.

“What are you two doing to poor Alexandria” Lily asked as she sat across from them. 

Jacob popped his head up and looked at Lily and Olivia. “What does it look like?! I’m being attacked!” Jacob said annoyed.

“Trust me you will know when I’m attacking you Jakey” Ephiliea said sitting next to Jacob while taking a bite of her sandwich.

“He won’t tell us why he is upset. If you ask me I think he’s having boy trouble” Adrian said smugly.

Everyone turned to Adrian in shock. Jacob turned his body to look at him, “That is not the problem” Jacob said stiffly to the Hufflepuff boy. 

Adrian shrugged, “Alright then. What is?” he asked.

Jacob was going to say something but then he looked up at Lily and closed his mouth, “Truly, nothing is wrong. Can we change topics now?” he asked politely. Olivia had a feeling this had something to do with that 

Snape boy so decided to keep her mouth shut as well. “How was your first day at Hogwarts ladies?” he asked looking between Ephiliea and Olivia.

Ephiliea shrugged. “I’m enjoying myself. How about you?” she asked Olivia.

“I’m enjoying the classes. After this me and Lily have Herbology” she said with a smile.

“After class we should hang out. I could show you the library if you would like” Jacob suggested to his cousin. Her eyes lit up. 

“You wouldn’t mind?” she asked not wanting to be a bother. 

“No worries. I’ll come pick you up after your last class” he said with a charming smile.

So after classes were over Jacob and Olivia made their way to the library. While they were walking Olivia looked over at her cousin.

“So you and Snape…What was that all about?” she asked softly.

He sighed, “It all started our first year. I asked him to be my partner in potions. He told me that he was not interested in being partners with me. He only wanted to be partners with Evans” he said with a roll of his eyes.

Olivia looked at him confused, “So you are angry because Snape turned you down all those years ago” she asked.

“It’s more than that. He was basically telling me that a muggleborn was better at potions than me.” Jacob said as they entered the library. They found a table that was in between two high bookshelves. Olivia thought that the library was amazing. She could stay in here all day and just read. It was way bigger than Ilvermorny’s library. Though the library was amazing, it was not enough to distract her from Jacob’s earlier comment. 

“I don’t even understand how muggleborns are a thing,” Olivia said.

Jacob looked at her puzzled, “You don’t understand why Muggleborns are let into Hogwarts?” he asked.

“No, just in general. We don’t have muggleborns in America. We…” Olivia thought about what happened to muggleborns in America. The one time she had asked her mother about it she was vague and dismissive. 

“Well that’s beside the point. Why does it matter that a muggleborn is better than you? Do you have something against Lily?” she asked.

Jacob rolled his eyes and sighed, “You know I did not mean it like that Olivia. It’s a pureblood thing.”

Olivia huffed, “It’s a pureblood thing” she said mocking him trying to sound snotty. “What does that even mean!” she yelled.

“Sssshhhhhhh!” a chorus of people around them said.

Jacob took a deep breath, “Look at it this way. Our family bloodline goes back many generations. Our name has history. Our family is known for our Potioneers. Your father works as a Head Potioneer at St. Mungo’s hospital. My father works as the Head of the Department of Potion Making in the Ministry. I was raised in a magical family learning about potions since I was young.”

Olivia nodded her head trying to process what he was saying.

“Evans is a muggleborn. She has no experience in magic. Snape is a halfblood; he grew up with some magic. If someone chose a person that was not experienced with magic over you, someone who was raised with it, would you not feel insulted?” Jacob asked.

Olivia thought about this for a moment.

“No not really. We don’t really talk about blood status in America like you guys do” she said truthfully.

She thought for a minute and laughed, “Actually now that I think about it. In America we don’t have halfbloods because it’s illegal to procreate with no-majs.”

Jacob gave her a questioning look, “What the bloody hell is a no-maj?” he asked.

“People with no magic duh! It’s what we call muggles in America” Olivia explained.

“That’s stupid” Jacob said.

“Oh really then tell me why you call people with no magic, muggles” Olivia asked looking smugly at her cousin. 

He thought about it for a moment before he decided to give up.

“It does not matter what it means! It sounds cooler, now come on. We should get going so we can get to dinner on time” Jacob said standing up. 

Olivia followed after her cousin out of the library. This pureblood stuff was so new to her. Sure her family was a well-known pureblood family in Europe but it never dawned on her until now. She decided she would talk more about it with Ephiliea later. Because as of right now she knew nothing!


End file.
